The Great Hall of the Bastion of Mourning was usually a place of cold stone and flickering firelight, a sanctuary where the Valerius family could find a brief respite from the biting winds of the Ironwood Fringe. However, as Baron Vane entered, the very temperature of the room seemed to drop by several degrees. He did not simply walk into the hall; he marched with a rhythmic, military precision that signaled his status as a high ranking officer of the Silverian Hegemony. The silver spurs on his polished black boots jingled with every heavy step, a sound that cut through the silence like a funeral bell.
Behind Vane followed a dozen Inquisitor Guards. They were a terrifying sight to behold. Each was dressed in matte grey armor that swallowed the light, their faces entirely concealed behind expressionless silver masks. These were not common soldiers. According to Cian's previous life memories, every member of an Auditor's escort was at least an Ascended rank warrior. Their mana signatures were tightly suppressed, yet the sheer weight of their presence was palpable, pressing down on the lungs of everyone in the room like the crushing atmosphere of a deep ocean trench.
Lord Alaric Valerius stood at the far end of the hall, flanked by Kael and a few of the more senior house guards. Against the backdrop of the Imperial contingent, Alaric looked smaller, his shoulders slightly hunched under the weight of his responsibilities. It was a sight that made Cian's stomach turn with a mixture of pity and cold rage. In the first life, his father had been a giant in his eyes. Now, Cian saw the reality. Alaric was a Master rank warrior being bullied by a Saint rank bureaucratic monster.
"Baron Vane," Alaric said, his voice level but lacking its usual resonance. "We did not expect the Hegemony's formal audit for another three months. The borders are restless, and the Abyssal Reach has been showing signs of agitation. A visit of this scale at such a time is... highly unusual."
Vane stopped in the center of the hall, his cold, grey eyes scanning the architecture with the clinical precision of a hawk. He did not look at Alaric immediately. Instead, his gaze drifted toward the corners of the room, cataloging the cracks in the masonry and the fraying edges of the family banners. Finally, his eyes landed on Cian, who was standing quietly in the shadows near a towering bookshelf.
"Unusual times require unusual measures, Lord Alaric," Vane said. His voice was smooth and cultured, possessing the texture of velvet stretched over a sharpened blade. "We received a direct report that the Aptitude Stone, a sacred relic gifted by the First Saints themselves, was destroyed during your son's ceremony. Such an event is either a sign of a magnificent blessing or a very dangerous, unstable heresy. I am here to determine which of those two realities we are currently inhabiting."
Vane began to walk toward Cian. The Inquisitor Guards fanned out, their movements perfectly synchronized as they took up positions that effectively blocked every exit from the Great Hall. Their hands rested idly on the hilts of their silver rapiers, their hidden eyes focused on the Valerius guards.
Cian felt the weight of Vane's gaze as the Baron approached. It was not a simple look. It was a sensory probe, a specialized detection skill used by the Hegemony's elite to find mana fluctuations, hidden artifacts, or signs of Abyssal corruption. Cian could feel the Baron's mana brushing against his skin like cold, invisible needles.
[Warning: High Level Detection Skill 'Soul Probe' detected.]
[Divine Talent: Akashic Scholar is generating a 'Logic Shroud'.]
[Mana Signature: Masked as 'Dormant'.]
[Secondary Core: Hidden behind a 'Dead Zone' of stagnant mana.]
Cian slumped his shoulders slightly. He let his eyes go a bit dull and vacant, mirroring the expression of the frightened, talentless boy he had been in his first life. He projected the image of a child who was overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of Imperial authority. He even allowed a small, nervous tremor to travel through his hands.
"So, this is the boy," Vane said, stopping just a few feet from Cian. He reached out a gloved hand and tilted Cian's chin upward, forcing the boy to look into his cold, grey eyes. "He looks... unremarkable. Quite frail, in fact. Tell me, boy, how did you manage to shatter a stone that has withstood the mana pressure of a thousand Saints without so much as a scratch?"
"I... I do not know, my Lord," Cian stammered. He made sure to keep his voice high and shaky, perfecting the performance of a confused youth. "I just touched the Stone as I was told. It felt very hot, and then everything went white. I thought I had broken it because my soul was too weak to be measured. I thought I had failed my father."
Vane stared into Cian's eyes for a long, agonizing minute. Cian could feel the Baron's mana probing the outer layers of his soul. If he had not reached the Monster Class and gained a second core to act as a buffer, Vane would have seen right through the disguise. The secondary core was currently hidden behind a void of mana that Cian had constructed using his learning talent, making his soul appear hollow and undeveloped to the Baron's probe.
"A soul too weak to be read, causing a feedback loop in the stone's internal circuitry?" Vane mused, finally releasing Cian's chin. "It is a theory the scholars in the Capital have proposed before. A 'Void Soul.' It is a rare phenomenon, but not entirely unheard of. Usually, such individuals are physically stunted and die before their twentieth year due to mana starvation."
Vane turned back to Alaric, his expression shifting from curiosity to a predatory boredom. "However, the Hegemony cannot take chances with its relics. Since the Stone is gone, I will conduct the audit personally. For the next seven days, I will oversee the training of your guards, the management of your granaries, and the purity of your bloodline. If House Valerius is found wanting in its duty to protect the border, the Bastion will be placed under direct Imperial administration."
Alaric's jaw tightened. "Direct administration" was the Hegemony's polite term for mass execution, land seizure, and the erasure of a noble lineage.
"We have nothing to hide, Baron," Alaric said, though Cian could see the flicker of genuine panic in his father's eyes. "My guards are loyal, and our stores are prepared for the winter."
"Good," Vane smiled, a thin, joyless expression. "I shall begin with your most promising warriors. I hear your daughter, Elena, is quite skilled. I look forward to seeing her 'Sentinel Breath' in action during the morning drills. It would be a shame if she were also a 'Void Soul' hiding behind a pretty face."
Cian felt a cold jolt of alarm. He had just "Patched" Elena's soul the night before. If she showed her new, silver mana or her increased physical precision in front of Vane, the "Correction" would be obvious to a Saint rank warrior. He had to warn her. He had to show her how to "Mask" her growth, just as he had masked his own. But Vane was watching him. Every movement and every breath he took was being analyzed by the Auditor's eye.
This is the game, Cian thought, his mind racing through thousands of tactical possibilities. He is not just auditing the house. He is hunting for a reason to justify our destruction. He wants to see if I am a genius or a fluke.
"Father," Cian said, interrupting the tense silence. "Since the Baron is here to audit our training and management, perhaps I should assist? I may not be a warrior, but I have read every administrative manual in the library. I could help with the logs of the spars and the inventory reports. It would be an honor to serve the Baron's entourage."
Vane chuckled, a dry, grating sound that reminded Cian of gravel being crushed. "The scholar wants to keep the books. How perfectly fitting. Very well, boy. You shall be my shadow during this audit. You will carry the ink and the parchment while I evaluate your kin. Let us see if your 'Divine' brain can keep up with the harsh reality of steel."
[System Notification: New Quest – The Auditor's Gamble.]
[Objective: Successfully hide the 'Mysterious Force' and Elena's soul growth from Baron Vane for 7 days.]
[Bonus Objective: Sabotage Baron Vane's personal report to the Emperor.]
[Reward: 500 Knowledge Points, 1 Random Master Rank Memory.]
[Failure: The Execution of House Valerius.]
Cian bowed his head deeply, hiding the predatory glint that had appeared in his eyes. "I will do my best to be useful, my Lord. I only hope my poor health does not slow you down."
As the Baron and his guards moved toward the guest wing to settle in, Cian felt a surge of adrenaline. The Sovereign Tutor talent was pulsing in his mind, its blue light flickering as if sensing the challenge ahead. He had exactly one night to meet with Elena and teach her the art of the 'Hidden Core.' If she couldn't hide her new strength by dawn, the audit would end in a bloodbath.
He looked at his father, who was watching Vane's departure with a look of profound defeat. Cian wanted to reach out, to tell him that the Bastion was no longer defenseless. He wanted to show him the two cores thrumming in his chest. But he knew that secrecy was his only shield. For now, he had to remain the frail scholar, the boy who broke stones because he was too weak to contain them.
Seven days, Cian thought, his mind already deconstructing the layout of the guest wing and the schedules of the Inquisitor Guards. I will give you an audit you will never forget, Baron. By the time you leave, House Valerius will not be under your administration. It will be the beginning of your nightmare.